The original question was, “Did Paul miss it in going to Jerusalem?” To me, the overwhelming evidence is that he did not. His going to Jerusalem before going to Rome was consistent with:
*His calling to testify of Jesus to the Jewish people, as well as the Gentiles, and kings (Acts 9:15).
*His pattern of ministering the gospel in the synagogue first before more specifically focusing on the Gentiles in a given city.
*His overall philosophy of ministry (1 Cor. 9:19-22)
19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; 20 and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; 21 to those who are without law, as without law(not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; 22 to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.
Paul’s journeys to Jerusalem and to Rome were certainly not conducive to his own personal comfort and convenience. We must be on guard against falsely believing that if something is God’s will, it will automatically be easy… that if a particular direction is God’s will, there won’t be any problems. That might be wishful thinking, but it isn’t biblical thinking.
Paul did not choose what was best for himself, and he certainly didn’t take the path of least resistance. While I hold to the inerrancy of Scripture, I do not believe that Paul, as a man, was infallible (e.g., Acts 23:1-5). We must guard against exalting him as a person or deifying him in some way. However, I am not comfortable second-guessing Paul from centuries away. I believe he understood his calling and assignment better than I do, and I believe he knew how to be led by the Spirit of God. The testimony of Jesus and Paul’s personal reflections lead me to believe that when Paul “purposed in the Spirit… to go to Jerusalem, saying, ‘After I have been there, I must also see Rome,’" that he was, in fact, accurately following the plan of God for his life.
